Some time has passed since I posted last, so here is an illustration that I was very happy to get to do for Vue Weekly for a Pop section wrap-up of 'the show of shows': WrestleMania, and nothing is more WrestleMania than the Undertaker! The Deadman is known for his legendary streak of 21 straight undefeated WM matches.

The Phenom, a real cornerstone of the WWE.

This year he returned to the Hell in a Cell match that he helped make famous.

Very happy to have received my copy of the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines in the mail today. I'm excited to read up on and strengthen my game. Graphically designing a better tomorrow... today.

Hey Yo! Chico, yesterday was the 2016 Royal Rumble, the event that starts the Road to Wrestlemania. In the last year I've gotten back in to watching sports entertainment in a big way. It all re-started last Wrestlemania. The show of shows managed to get me re-hooked and then introduced me to NXT, and from there I found Lucha Underground. Guys, there is so much good wrestling out there right now. Both of those shows are outstanding. Anyway, while watching the Rumble I drew a tribute to one of my favourite Hall Of Famers, 'The Bad Guy' of the 90's: Razor Ramon. So say hello to the bad guy!:

Over the past few years I have had the pleasure of working with a handful of musicians on the layout design, and sometimes illustration for their albums. It is always a great honor to be invited in to become a part of their creative process. They entrust me to help them create the wrapper for their art, to help them tell their story or get their message accross. Reuben Anderson, a buddy of mine, is one of those musicians. He brought me onboard to help him create the layout, package design and some illustration for his debut solo album "From Deepest Depths To Highest Heights". Reuben wrote most of this album while recovering from a broken back. The result is an honest, touching and fun collection of songs. The package design for his album was jam-packed full of personal touches from the hand-written, heart-felt introduction page to the hand-drawn illustrations by his father. Here is the initial sketch that became the album cover.

The initial sketch of the album cover.

If you'd like you can go to either his BANDCAMP or his WEBSITE and check it out (and should) , and if you like what you hear you can (and should!) buy a copy. Keep an ear out for him, it sounds like he's got a few cool new projects in the works.

From Deepest Depths To Highest Heights

More examples of the work I've done with musicians can be seen both in the 'album design' and the 'posters' tab on the top of the page. If you like what you see feel free to drop me a line. I'm always happy to work with new artists on new projects. Thanks for dropping by.

One of my favourite yearly projects is my annual Krampus cover for Vue Weekly. In my last post I went through my history of Vue Weekly Krampus covers. So far I've visited a whiskey drinking Krampus, Hipster Krampus, and late night talk show host Krampus Letterman. How do you top that? For this years inspiration I turned to the movie that I have seen more than any other: The Big Lebowski, and while it would have been easy for me to do a great version of Dude Krampus I thought I'd leave that for another time. I went with a supporting character who shares a namesake with a savior who holds what is most likely the most famous of all birthdays. The one, the only, The Jesus.

The Jesus.

Like most things this started as a sketch, which I then inked. Scanned it and brought it into Illustrator to clean up the lines and add a few details. From there I added colour and finally dropped it into the Vue Weekly cover template. Behold Krampus Jesus!

The initial sketch / inks.

Simple line work done in Illustrator.

Basic colours done in Illustrator.

Brought in to Photoshop, and finished off.

So, there you have it. I had a great time getting this cover together. Now that you've seen the process, why not pop over to vueweekly.com to check out the paper, or you can read the whole thing online via Issuu. It's never too early to start thinking of next years Krampus. If you have any thoughts or ideas of what I should do for next years cover feel free to leave them or and other constructive feedback in the comments.

Over the last 4 years I have had the pleasure of creating an annual Krampus-themed cover for Vue Weekly. It all started in 2012 with a story on the darker side of Christmas holiday figures. Meaghan Baxter's story highlighted three of these figures with Krampus stealing the spotlight. In the years since the story came out Krampus has seen a resurgence and become more prominent in pop culture up to, and including a 2015 non-traditional holiday horror film.

2012, The dark side of the wreath.

An Anti-Santa that punishes bad kids by either hitting them with birch sticks or by trapping them in his basket and taking them with him back to hell. What's not to love about this guy? The next year Vue Weekly made Krampus our unofficial mascot for the year in review issue, so I went with a typewriter happy Hipster Krampus. (Note: He hates being called a Hipster.)

2014, Hipster Krampus inked sketch.

2014, Hipster Krampus cover.

2015 was the year David Letterman was set to retire. I'm not sure why I chose to fixate on that event, it was just a thing that was happening in pop culture and I had watched a bunch of Letterman throughout the years. He was great, so my homage to him was this Late Show themed Krampus, Krampus Letterman.

2015, Krampus Letterman sketch.

2015, Krampus Letterman cover.

That brings us to current. Tonight / tomorrow morning the new issue of Vue Weekly will hit the streets, and with it will be my next kick at the Kramp. What theme did I go with this year? Come back tomorrow to find out. But I will tell you this: Nobody f*cks with the Krampus.

Hello to anyone who has stumbled across this page in your travels along the vast landscape of the web. What you have found is the outpost for my artwork. The safe haven for my sketchbook. The palace for my process. Just like the sidebar says, right?

Who am I? I am the currator and creator of the content within. Chuck, Charles, or Charlie. I am a graphic designer / illustrator / musician who's decided that it is time to start sharing the fun things that I get to do. I would also like to share the way in which I do them. Again, just like the sidebar.

I plan to use this blog space as a catch-all to share the fun projects that I get to work on and the ways that I get those projects done, the amazing people I get to work with, and the inspiration that keeps me going and anything else that I am in to. Along the way I hope to figure out what works, what doesn't work, what should have worked, etc. If at any time you feel you have anything to add to the conversation please do, constructive feedback is always appreciated. So that's my introduction, now let's get this show on the road.

Welcome to my blog!

Hello to anyone who has stumbled across this page in your travels along the vast landscape of the web. What you have found is the outpost for my artwork. The safe haven for my sketchbook. The palace for my process.

Who am I?

I am the currator and creator of the content within. Chuck, Charles, or Charlie. I am a graphic designer / illustrator / musician who wants to share the fun things that I do with you. I'd also like to share the way in which I do them.